Losing hours daily in border queues was enough for Rob Hudson to seek vaccination for COVID-19, and he was among the first members of the public aged between 50 and 70 to do so.
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Albury Wodonga Health made vaccines available to the 50-and-over age group on Monday, in line with Commonwealth advice.
More than 200 people came through the doors.
PoolWerx Albury-Wodonga owner Rob Hudson, 51, is a regular flu vaccine recipient and said the AstraZeneca jab hurt less.
"When the announcement came out, I wanted to get down and get in the queue," he said.
"Twelve months ago ... with four reasons to leave the house, border crossings, permits, businesses affected pubs and clubs ... it was a nightmare and I don't want to go back to that.
"We want to keep moving forward - come on down and get the vaccine.
"It hurt less than the flu vaccine."
- TO BOOK YOUR VACCINATION PHONE THE VICTORIAN CORONAVIRUS HOTLINE: 1800 675 398
Monday was the first time the general public could receive vaccinations at Albury Wodonga Health's hub on High Street.
Up until now, only health workers and vulnerable populations have been eligible.
While nurses were taking walk-ins today, amid national coverage of the roll-out moving to the next phase, from Tuesday people are asked to ring the COVID-19 hotline to book in.
Chief operating officer Emma Poland said bookings were open to Albury residents, with no one eligible to be turned away.
"As of today, all people over 50 in our region are able to come to the Albury Wodonga Health vaccination hub here on High Street to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine," she said.
"As of tomorrow (Tuesday), we would encourage people to book through the COVID vaccine hotline, the 1800 number that is available on the website.
"That will help alleviate any long delays being experience by people."
Ms Poland expects phases 1a and 1b will be complete in coming weeks, with vaccine supply being a "week-by-week proposition".
"I think it would probably be the next two to four weeks at least, as we continue with that 1a and 1b and commence this next phase of the over-50s," she said.
"We've delivered over 3000 vaccines now to our community for people in those 1a and 1b categories, which includes those front-line healthcare workers, our paramedics and also many of our residential aged care facility staff and residents.
"For this week, we do have the capacity to deliver up to 500 vaccines a day; we have enough vaccine and also the staff to deliver those vaccines, and we will continue to monitor that supply on a weekly basis.
"We anticipate that we'll be able to manage that demand, particularly as people will be booking through that booking system, we'll be able to manage that."
Additional to adults aged 50 years and over, phase 2a also covers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged 18-49 years and "other critical and high risk workers".
However, at this stage, AWH is only making vaccines available to those aged 50 and over.
"We are starting the roll-out of the (phase) 2a, although, we're reviewing that at the moment," Ms Poland said.
"At the moment, our priority is to complete phase 1a and 1b, and to start all over 50s.
"It's good to see a great turn-out today.
"For people aged 50 and over, we will be prioritising the AstraZeneca vaccine, just as for those aged under 50, we'll prioritise the use of the Pfizer."
When AWH moved its phase 1a vaccination program from Albury Hospital to the High Street hub in April, the health service was unsure of its role in vaccinating the general public.
Ms Poland said Commonwealth advice paved the way for the general public to start being inoculated in the Wodonga hub.
"We are following the advice of the Commonwealth, and the program and the scheduling of the vaccination program is being run nationally," she said.
"This is our part in contributing to that program.
"When you arrive, you will come in through the back entrance off of the carpark and there's a waiting area -the first point of call is a temperature check, checking in and putting on a face mask.
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"Then you go through to the administration ... once all of the administration paperwork is completed, there is a pre-wait area.
"From there, you'll be taken to one of the 36 cubicles to have the vaccine administered, and then following that, there is a post-wait area where you would wait for about 15 minutes just to ensure that you haven't had any adverse side effects."
AWH isn't currently considering its own hotline for vaccination appointments, but "may look at that over time", Ms Poland said.
When will I get the vaccine?
Phase 1a (up to 1.4 million doses):
- Quarantine and border workers, Commonwealth employees (including Defence personnel) who are identified as having the potential to encounter returning travellers as part of their work
- Front-line staff in facilities or services such as hospital emergency departments, lab staff, those in testing and GP respiratory clinics
- Aged care and disability staff
- Aged care and disability care residents
Phase 1b (up to 14.8 million doses):
- Healthcare workers currently employed and not included in Phase 1a
- Critical and high risk workers who are currently employed including defence, police, fire, emergency services and meat processing
- Elderly people aged 80 years and over
- Elderly people aged 70 years and over
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 years and over
- Adults with an underlying medical condition or significant disability
Phase 2a (up to 15.8 million doses):
- Adults aged 50 years and over
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged 18-49 years
- Other critical and high risk workers
Phase 2b (up to 16 million doses):
- Balance of population aged between 16-49 years
- Catch up any unvaccinated Australians from previous phases
Phase 3 (up to 13.6 million doses):
- People 16 years and under
